Outboard motor mounting mechanism



April 3, 1956 D. D. KLoss 2,740,602

OUTBOARD MOTOR MOUNTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 18, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

April 3, 1956 D. D. KLOSS 2,740,602

OUTBOARD MOTOR MOUNTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 18, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

{axial Jog? April 3, 1956 D. D. KLoss 2,740,602

OUTBOARD MOTOR MOUNTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 18, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent" OUTBOARD MOTOR MOUNTING.

Dale D. Kloss, Minneapolis, Minn assignor to'Champion Motors (30., Minneapolis, Minn, acorporatmn Minnesota Application December 18,1952, .SerialvNo..326,747

4 Claims. (Cl. 248'-4) My invention relates generally to. outboard motors and more particularly to novelmeans for mounting. an outboard motor to the transom or. stern board: of. a, boat.

An important object of'my invention. is theprovision of mounting means for an outboard, motor which. will permit the motor to be swung from; a. normalgenerally vertical position behind the transom ofi a. boatto a horizontal inoperative position above the transom and thereafter swung about a generally vertical axis in a. manner tobring the propeller end ofthe motor forwardly ofthe transom and in overlying relation to the. boat for the purpose ofclearingthe propeller of weeds or grass, replacing a shear pin, or for other like purposes.

Another important object of myinventiouzis the provision of outboard motor mounting; means. of. the above type having pivotmeans. by which: the motor may be tilted from its normal generally vertical; position toits inoperative horizontal position and releasable; means which will permit the moton to. be rotated: to bring; the propeller end thereof into the boat permittingsuchzswinging, of the motor when the same-is in its-horizontal inoperative position and which will= automatically lock. the motor against SllCl'lzIIlGVfiDIlCIli'; when the same is; disposed in-its operative generallyvertical position:

Otherwise stated, my invention. comprises at transom clamp and a twopart motor'mountingbracketr involving first: and second bracket: elements; therformen ofi which is adapted to be pivotally secured; to; an: outboard: motor and the second of which is pivotally secured to: the transom clamp for swinging movements about a horizontal. axis extending transversely of the. boat, pivot means connecting the first and! second. bracket elements for relative. movements about: an axis' substantially at right angles to the motor steering axis and at one side. of the vertical plane. of the steering axis and releasable locking means laterally spaced! from the pivoti means hetweent'ne bracket elements and'ion-the other side'of said vertical plane whereby to provide arelatively wide and rigid: connection between saidfirst and second bracket elements.

Another object of my invention is' the provisionof'an outboard motor mounting deviceasset forthwhich is relatively inexpensive to produce, which isefii'cient in operation and which isrugged inconstruction and durable in use.

The above and still other highly important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent'from the following detailed specification, appended claims-and attached drawings. 1

Referring-to the drawings, which illustrate the invention and in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1' is a view in side elevation of the stem end portion of an outboard motor-equipped boat illustrating the use of my novel outboard motor mounting device;

Fig. 2.is aview corresponding to Fig, 1" but showing a different position of some of the parts;

2,740,602 Patented Apr. 3,. 1.956

Fig. 3 is anenlarged fragmentary view partly inrear elevation and partly in section taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.;

Fig; 4. is. a vertical. section taken on. the line 44;of Fig. 3;

Eig. 5. is a view corresponding toFig, 4 but showing; a ditferentz position of some of. the parts;

Fig. 6 is. a. horizontal. section taken on. the. line 6+6 ofiEig. 3; and.

Fig; Z is.-a.view corresponding to Fig. 6 but showing a different view. of some of the parts.

Referring with greater detail to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a conventional. boat of the outboard motor propelled: variety such as a row. boat or the like. A transom clamp 2. is. formed to provide ahorizontal intermediate portion 3- which is adapted, to rest upon the upper end:ofthetransom 4 of the boat 1 and inner and Outer clamping legs 5 and 6, the former of which is adapted to-engage the rear side of the transom 4 and the latter of which is provided. with clamping screws 7,. the inner'disc-like ends 8 of which are adapted to be'screw threaded: into clamping engagement with the inner. front sidesof. the transom- 3.

Y A- two-part. mounting bracket 9' comprises first; and second bracket elements. 10 and 11 respectively to. the former. of which is adapted. to be connected forpivotal steering; movements to an outboard motor 12. The bracket element 10 is provided with a pair of lugs 13 and 14 upon which are adapted to] rest respectively lugs 15.. and. 16, which extend forwardly, of the propeller shaft housing. 17 of the motor 12. A pivot or steering pin or bolt. 18: extends through the lugs 13' to- 16-inclusive and permits steering movements to be imparted to the motor and its propeller 19.- The: steering axis of the: motor 12. extends. substantially vertically when. the motor; is disposed in itsgoperative position behindthe transom.3 of theboat 1; as indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The transom clamp 2 is bifurcated to providean intermediate; space'for. the reception: of the mounting. bracket 9:. The: transom; clamp 2' is also formed: to provide; a painof'fonwardly'extending arms lit-which are connected by a transverse shaft 2L having a head 22'atv one end'zand a diametricallyreducedv threaded: portion 23. at its other end, on which; is screw threaded a lock washer=equipped anchoring nut: or. the like 24i The .sh'aft21- is frictionally Locked: by the; nut: 24: against rotation with respect to thertransoma clamp 2.for'a purpose which willhereinafter become; apparent. Thev secondz bracket element 11 is journalled: on; the t shaft: 21' for swinging movements about a; generally horizontah axis extending transversely of the boatli. With! reference to Figs; 3', 6-and 7, it: will be seem that a; pair-of spacing washers 25 are mounted on the. shaft 21". between the opposite sides of the second bracket elementi 1:1: and. the adjacent, arms: 20* of. the transom. clamp,-; whereby: to provide smooth bearing sun facesi therebetween and toprevent axial movement of thebracket'element 11 with respect to the transom' clarnp 2:; Swinging. movement of the bracket element 11 with respect. to. the transom clamp- Z islimited. by a stop: pin

26.v which. projects axially outwardly of one side of the bracket element 11 and through-an. adjacent washer-25, anda pair of stop shoulders27 and 28. formed. inthe end portion of the adjacenttransomclamp armf2tl,.see.Figs. 3f andl4. When. themotor 12 is inits: operative. dotted lineposition of Fig.1., the stop pin 264s disposed closely adjacent the stop shoulder28 or in engagement therewith, depending up.on.the angle of" the transom 3' with respect to the. vertical. It may. be assumed that. the bracket element 10 and the transom clamp 2 are pro.- vided with conventional adjustment means,.. not. shown, for maintaining the motor in a substantially vertical position in its operative state. This adjustment means does not comprise the instant invention, hence the same is not shown or described in detail. When the motor is raised to its inoperative generally horizontal position as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the stop pin 26 engages the stop shoulder 27 whereby to limit tilting movements of the motor in an inoperative direction.

The front and rear ends of the bracket elements and 11 respectively provide relatively wide abutting surfaces 29 and 30 respectively. A pivot bolt 31 extends through an aperture 32 in the first bracket element 10 and is screw threaded into a threaded aperture 33 in the second bracket element 11, see Figs. 3, 6 and 7. The bolt 31 permits swinging movement of the first bracket element 10 and the motor 12 mounted thereon with respect to the second bracket element 11 about an axis at right angles to the steering axis of the motor 12, or in other words, the axis of the pivot bolt or shaft 18, and at one side of the vertical plane of said steering axis. With reference to Figs. 3, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the pivot bolt 31 is located adjacent one side of the mounting bracket elements 10 and 11. As clearly shown, when the bracket 9 and the motor 12 carried thereby are tilted to the motor inoperative position of Fig. l, the axis of the pivot bolt 31 extends in a substantially vertical direction. In this position of the bracket 9, the bracket element 10 and the motor carried thereby may be rotated about the axis of the pivot bolt 31 to bring the propeller end of the motor 12 into overlying relationship to the boat 1 forwardly of the transom 3 thereof and as shown in Fig. 2. With the motor thus positioned, the propeller 19 may be removed without danger of dropping the same or any of the parts associated therewith into the water.

While it is important that the motor be provided with means whereby the propeller end thereof may be swung into its position of Fig. 2 when the motor is in its inoperative generally horizontally position, and for the purpose of facilitating repairs to the propeller end thereof, it is equally important that the motor be locked against such swinging movement when the same is: in its generally vertical operative position behind the transom 3 and as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l.

I therefor provide automatic means for locking the first bracket element 10 against swinging movements about the axis of the pivot bolt 31 when the motor is in its operative position, and for automatically releasing the bracket 10 for said swinging movement when the motor is tilted to its inoperative horizontal position, said means now to be described. A locking pin 34 is mounted for axial sliding or reciprocatory movements in the rear end wall 35 of the second bracket element 11 and a bearing boss 36 located slightly rearwardly of the shaft 21. The forward end 37 of the pin 34 engages a cam member 38 integrally formed 7 with the stationary shaft 21, whereby, when the bracket 9 is tilted from its dotted line normal position of Fig. l to its full line position thereof, the pin 34 will be moved axially in one direction. A coil compression spring 39 encompasses the pin 34 and is interposed between the rear end wall 35 of the bracket element 11 and a stop washer 40 suitably anchored to the pin 34, see particularly Figs. 3, 4 and 5. With reference particularly to Figs. 3, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the pin 34 is disposed parallel to the pivot bolt 31 and is located on the opposite side of the vertical plane of the steering axis of the motor 12 and adjacent the opposite side of the bracket element 11 from the pivot bolt 31. The pin 34 extends rearwardly of the rear wall 35 and is adapted to be received in an arcuate slot 41 in the front wall 42 of the first bracket element 10. Preferably. and as shown, the slot 41 describes an arc, the center of which is common with the axis of the pivot bolt 31, and at its inner end is countersunk to provide an enlarged recess 42'. The rear end of the pin 34 is formed with an enlarged head 43 which is adapted to fit snugly into the recess 42' when the motor 12 is positioned with respect to the second bracket element 11, as shown in Fig. 1.

In operation, when the motor is in its generally vertical 2 position behind the transom of the boat, the pin 34 is spring biased into seating engagement of the head 43 thereof in the recess 42, see Fig. 5. This seating engage ment eifectively prevents swinging movement between the motor and the transom clamp 2 about the axis of the pivot bolt 31.- However, when the motor 12 is tilted to its full line inoperative horizontal position of Fig. l, the cam member 38 moves the locking pin 34 in a direction to unseat the head 43 thereof out of seating engagement with the recess 42' against bias of the spring 39, see Figs. 3 and 4. The bracket element 10 and the motor carried thereby may then be swung to their positions of Figs. 2 and 7 whereby to bring the propeller end of the motor in overlying relationship to the boat forwardly of the transom 3 thereof. With the motor in this position, the relationship of the shaft 21 to the head of the motor 12 is such that, if the motor 12 is tilted rearwardly and downwardly, the head thereof will engage the top of the transom clamp 2 and will be prevented thereby from further downward swinging movement. When it is again desired to operate the motor, the same is rotated to its full line position of Fig. 1 until the locking pin 34 bottoms in the slot 41. The head 43 of the pin 34 will then be in axial alignment with the recess 42'. Thus when the motor is tilted down wardly toward its operativevertical position, the cam member 38 will permit the spring 39 to move the pin 34 forwardly until the head 43 is seated in the recess 42' whereby to rigidly lock the bracket elements It) and 11 against relative movements with respect to each other. The relatively wide spacing between the pivot bolt 31 and the locking pin 34, together with the relatively large. surface area of the wall surfaces 29 and 3t), insures a firm mounting between the bracket elements and relative movement therebetween due to vibration of the engine is held at a minimum.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth; and while I have shown and described a commercial embodiment of my novel motor mounting means, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification as to structure and arrangement of parts without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an outboard motor mounting device comprising a transom clamp and a two-part bracket including a pair of cooperating bracket elements, one of said bracket elements being adapted to be pivotally mounted to an outboard motor for steering movement about a normally vertical axis and the other of said bracket elements being pivotally secured to said transom clamp for swinging movement about a horizontal axis extending parallel to a boat transom when the transom clamp is applied thereto; means pivotally connecting said one bracket element to the other bracket element for relative rotation about an axis at right angles to said horizontal axis of swinging movement, and mechanism for automatically locking said bracket elements against said relative rotation when said other bracket element is moved in one direction of the swinging movement relative to the transom clamp and for automatically releasing said bracket elements for relative rotation to each other responsive to swinging movement of the other bracketelement in the opposite direction, said mechanism comprising a looking member mounted on said other bracket element for common swinging movement therewith about said horizontal axis relative to said transom clamp and for independent movement. relative thereto toward and away from locking engagement with a cooperating means on said onebracket element, and a stationary actuator on said transom clamp engaging said locking member to impart said independent movement: thereto in a direction to release said locking member from said cooperating means to free said bracket elements for said relative rotation during swinging movement of said other bracket element in said opposite direction.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said locking member comprises an elongated pin axially slidably mounted on said other bracket element, said cooperating means on said one bracket element comprises a recess for the reception of a portion of said pin, and yielding means biasing said pin toward locking engagement with the recess of said one bracket element, said stationary actuator comprising a cam engaging said pin to move the pin out of locking engagement with said recess against bias of said yielding means.

3. In an outboard motor mounting device comprising a transom clamp and a two-part bracket including a pair of cooperating bracket elements, one of said bracket elements being adapted to be pivotally mounted to an outboard motor for steering movement about a normally vertical axis and the other of said bracket elements being pivotally secured to said transom clamp for swinging movement about a horizontal axis extending parallel to a boat transom when the transom clamp is applied thereto; said bracket elements having elongated adjacent sides normally in face-toface contact with each other, means adjacent one end of said sides pivotally connecting said bracket elements to each other for relative rotation about an axis at right angles to the said horizontal axis of swinging movement, a locking pin axially slidably mounted on said other bracket element adjacent the other end of said sides for independent movement relative to the bracket elements toward and away from locking engagement with a cooperating means on said one bracket element, a head on-one end of said pin, said cooperating means including an open-ended arcuate slot having the center thereof common with the axis of relative rotation of said bracket elements, said slot having a recess opposite the open end thereof, said recess being of greater width than the slot for reception of the head of said pin, and an actuator carried by said transom clamp and engaging said locking pin to impart said independent movement thereto in a direction to release said locking pin from said recess to free said one bracket element for said relative rotation during swinging movement of said other bracket element in said opposite direction.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 in further combination with a coil spring yieldingly urging said pin in a direction to cause the head thereof to be received in said recess, and in which said actuator comprises a stationary cam which engages the end of said pin opposite the head thereof to move the head out of said recess against bias of said spring upon swinging movement of the other bracket element in said opposite direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,213,536 Solie Sept. 3, 1940 2,389,726 Goodhue Nov. 27, 1945 2,390,135 Tobias Dec. 4, 1945 2,454,972 Martin Nov. 30, 1948 2,613,896. Witt Oct. 14, 1952 2,682,854 Cohen July 6, 1954 

